Byrd To Perform New Music at Rison in the Fall Festival
RISON - As the Rison in the Fall Festival draws near (Oct. 12), rising star Marybeth Byrd joined in on the latest episode of the Free Range Conversations podcast to share some of her musical origins, and what she is looking forward to at this year’s festival.
Byrd chats with Festival Director Douglas Boultinghouse, one of the festival’s founders, Roy Phillips, and podcast host and Cleveland County Herald publisher Britt Talent, in the episode streaming now.
The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and on www.clevelandcountyherald.com
Byrd is a 22-year-old singer songwriter from Armorel, Arkansas who won the Arkansas Country Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year earlier this year.
She is known by many for the adventures she set out on at age 17 as she was preparing to graduate high school. In 2019, she made the top eight semifinals on Season 17 of NBC’s The Voice with the help of her coach, John Legend, and mentors Usher and Taylor Swift.
Trying the audition process again, she made the top 10 on Season 21 of American Idol in 2023.
“I always tell people I feel like its a double-edged sword with those two shows,” she says in the podcast. “There are lot of pros and cons, but I wouldn’t take that experience back for anything.”
Byrd reflects on being thrust into a world of social media at a young age and trying to be “everything all at once,” with the pressures of being on national television shows.
As an independent artist now, Byrd looks back on those two shows with appreciation and creative freedom.
She earned her degree in marketing from Arkansas State University while competing on the shows in California, and now uses those skills to promote her music - and other avenues in photography and vocal coaching.
Growing up in Armorel, a small town not too different from Rison, Byrd struggled with a stuttering speech and the bullying she endured because of it, but found when singing, the stuttering went away.
She made her singing debut as a child at a pageant singing the National Anthem in a U.S.A. outfit. That confidence of tackling the anthem led to more performing, and eventually into songwriting.
One of the stand-outs she’s released is a song she wrote called “Jesus and Jail.”
“I’ve always had such a strong faith, and in the midst of trying to find my style, I felt like the TV shows were trying to change me in ways that I wasn’t willing to give up,” she said. “And that was my faith.”
Undeterred by those efforts to steer her away from it, she said, “You know, I think I’m just going to put Jesus in everything I write, in everything that I sing.”
Applying that to a relationship, “You ever had a boy that makes you want to kill them, but you also love Jesus?,” she says with a laugh, “So I wrote a song about it.”
Byrd’s style also weaves genres between country, gospel and pop, a style Boultinghouse likened to Kelly Clarkson.
“You can’t pigeonhole you,” he said to Byrd. “You can do anything.”
Byrd appreciated the comparison, noting, “When you get into (the industry), you realize how much people try to put you in a lane.”
“But what’s the point in creativity then, if you’re being put into a box.” she said.
For her creativity, Bryd also draws inspiration from Adele and her ability to be real.
“I’ve love how real she is, she’s not afraid to get up and be like ‘This is who I am, this is what I think.’” she said.
Following that mindset, Byrd came out of her experiences on the television competitions with a better sense of who she is as an artist.
Byrd’s stop at Rison in the Fall is part of a mini-tour through her home state. She will also perform at Musicfest El Dorado Oct. 5, and White Hall Founder’s Day Oct. 19.
Her shows in October will serve as promotion for her new EP “October Woods” being released the first week of October. The project includes collaborations with Callista Clark and GRAMMY-award winning artist Linda Davis.
Fans in attendance at the festival will get to hear the new music live.
During the podcast, Byrd also shares memories of her grandfather encouraging her to sing, the special song she wrote for him, as what she looks forward to about settling down with the love of her life.
Upcoming episodes of the podcast will feature discussions with BIAS, Rissi Palmer and Charles Esten as they prepare to visit Rison for the Rison in the Fall Festival this October.